25 years of Magic: The Gathering, RuneQuest revisited and free Wild West Exodus miniature: Tabletop Gaming July is out in one week!

The hottest arrival of summer is almost here! The July issue of Tabletop Gaming magazine is just seven days away, and promises to be a proper summer treat – make sure you pre-order or subscribe today to guarantee your copy.

Our free gift this month is a stunning K9 Attack Dog miniature from alt-history western skirmish game Wild West Exodus. The model is worth £5.50, and there are two to collect – so don’t miss your chance to expand your army!

Inside the magazine you’ll find advice on assembling your figure and a painting guide. Once you’ve splash on a bit of colour, don’t forget to enter our painting competition for your chance to win over £120 worth of Wild West Exodus goodies!

July brings with it the 25th anniversary of the world’s biggest card game, Magic: The Gathering, and to celebrate we’ve gathered loads of the game’s designers, artists, fans, pro players and more to mark the occasion in a special 10-page bumper-sized feature. We hear from creator Richard Garfield about the game’s origins, current head honcho Mark Rosewater tells us about his lifelong obsession and what’s next, and fans from the community recall their favourite Magic memories.

Another of the summer’s big releases is the latest edition of legendary RPG RuneQuest, as Roleplaying in Glorantha brings together 40 years of innovation and imagination in the fantasy world. We speak with creators Steve Perrin and Greg Stafford about how spirituality and mythology led to a roleplaying revolution – plus, read our thoughts on the newest incarnation in the reviews section.

July’s magazine features a chat with Tom Filsinger about Champions of the Galaxy, his ambitious wrestling card game that he’s been expanding and evolving for three decades. He looks back on his time with the game, reveals its beginnings, and considers how his outlook and his process as a designer has changed over the years. 

We also catch up with iconic designer Steve Jackson to revisit his influential 1977 debut Ogre, the larger-than-life wargame that put players in the seat of an unstoppable monster tank and threw an army at them.

Elsewhere in the issue, we play the CIA board games secretly devised by the US intelligence agency to train its agents, revealing how you can try them for yourself at home.

If you’re a fan of heavy games, you won’t want to miss our discussion with Capstone Games founder Clay Ross about the rise in popularity of complex games and his work to resurrect some of the tabletop’s heavyweights.

There’s much, much more, including tips on painting magical narrative adventure Stuffed Fables, a look at the making of flexible RPG Fate Core, a reflection on the game-changing Spiel des Jahres win of Settlers of Catan and our pick of the best tabletop adaptations of video games – to name just a few.

Plus, hear our verdicts on the summer’s hottest games in the Played section, featuring reviews of

• Century: Eastern Wonders
• A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game
• Dungeons & Dragons: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
• The Mind
• Decrypto
• Kero
• History of the World
• Imaginarium
• Shards of Infinity
• Space Base
• Big Trouble in Little China: The Game
• Fantastiqa: Rival Realms
• Drop It
• Fae
• And many more!

Pre-order your copy of Tabletop Gaming July today via our online store, or find it in Tesco, Sainsbury's, WHSmith, hobby stores and newsagents from June 29th. Find your local supermarket stockist here. The magazine can also be downloaded as a digital edition on mobile and PC.

The easiest, cheapest and best way of keeping up-to-date with what's new in gaming is by subscribing to Tabletop Gaming, with annual, bi-annual and quarterly options now available!